Newswise — New Brunswick, N.J.– While largely preventable, skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States .
If basal cell or squamous cell skin cancers are detected early, they can often be treated surgically with excellent results. However, radiation therapy, a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells, may also be part of a patient’s treatment plan. For select patients, radiation therapy is an effective treatment with minimal side effects that may be used : To treat skin cancer if a skin tumor is very large or if it is in an area that makes it hard to remove with surgery.
In combination with other treatments for example, after surgery to eliminate any remaining areas of cancer cells that may not have been visible during surgery. To treat melanoma that has come back after surgery, either in the skin or lymph nodes, or to help treat the spread of the disease. Skin Brachytherapy, also called radiation seed therapy, offers a non-invasive radiation therapy solution to complement or replace surgery for certain skin cancers.
In this type of radiation therapy, the radioactive source is delivered via an applicator which is placed temporarily next to a tumor, depending on the cancer type and location. That allows the elimination of cancer cells by delivering the radiation treatment from directly adjacent to the tumor mass. Skin Brachytherapy has many benefits for skin cancer patients.
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